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Lincoln Riley shuts down rumors about leaving USC, says 'I'm where I need to be'
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- Lincoln Riley shuts down rumors about leaving USC, says 'I'm where I need to be'
During the 2021 coaching carousel , the biggest prize was Southern California football poaching Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma .
Four years later, as coach after coach from the 2021 cycle is being shown the door, it's appropriate, Riley's name is making the rounds in the last week for some of the potential openings, including LSU , Florida and Penn State .
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However, Riley shot down any notion of him leaving Los Angeles after coaching the Trojans for four years.
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"You guys know what I sacrificed to be here," Riley said following a 38-17 win over Northwestern. "I'm where I need to be."
Speculation about Riley's future with USC was sparked earlier this week when college football analyst Josh Pate hinted about Riley's future during an appearance on "Bussin' With The Boys."
"Can we end on this?" Pate said while simulating the pulling of a pin on a grenade and throwing it "Let's just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC."
Riley, 42, left the head coaching role in Norman, Oklahoma, after leading the program to a 55-10 record between 2017 and 2020, following the retirement of Bob Stoops. Riley led the Sooners to three straight College Football Playoff appearances between 2017 and 2019.
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He fled the Sooners for the USC job one day after Oklahoma lost to rival Oklahoma State to end the regular season. While he had not been linked to the USC job, rumors about Riley's candidacy to LSU ran rampant that season.
In his first season with the Trojans , Riley led USC to an 11-win season, but a loss in the Pac-12 Championship game left it out of the CFP. The Trojans went 8-5 and 7-6 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. With the win on Friday, they improved to 7-2 and kept their playoff hopes alive.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USC coach Lincoln Riley shuts down rumors of him leaving Trojans
